31/05/2013

so it looks like today i'm pulling the "quick take my picture" awkward smile face pose. it's a pretty boring outfit but this is what i work today and i can't decide whether it was inappropriate choice with the whole bra showing thing going on but oh who cares right? unfortunately i was absolutely melting for my entire 8 hour shift because some heatwave came out of nowhere so yeah, nice outfit just wrong day to wear it. i got this beaut of a jumper for £9 and even though i'd say it looks cheap i love it. a good alternative to the ridiculously priced wildfox jumpers for £200. i don't know why but i'm really ill at the moment, i've had a headache from tuesday that just won't go away no matter how many paracetamols and i have constant lower back pain no matter what i do. i just want to be better again, i hate not feeling 100% especially when it leaves me bedridden and doing online retail therapy, haha.

29/05/2013

ever since the lovely victoria from the inthefrow did a post about ark clothing i've been a fan. not local to myself, every single time i've visited manchester i've always made sure i ventured to the arndale centre and went in. to me it's the kind of shop where i can walk in and find myself wanting pretty much everything they sell. their website is fast becoming one of my favourite sites to browse for affordable on-trend clothing. recently branching out ark clothing now stock over brands too, including some of my favourites like glamorous, motel, hearts and bows and superdry clothing. but don't forget that ark's own brand of clothing is pretty great too! i've decided to put together a little montage of some of the things i am considering purchasing at the moment. skater dresses are my absolute favourite so the floral number from ginger fizz is absolute perfection. have you ever bought anything from ark clothing? or is there anything you're lusting at the moment? let me know!

27/05/2013

i really wish i'd put my hair in a messy plaited wreath than rather having it down for this outfit (note: totally did it when i went out). i'm doing the best to banish the brassiness in my hair so i've put my total faith in using silver shampoo treatment. i've only used it a couple of times so far and it isn't enough to make a judgement but i think it is helping a little bit. anyway this is one of the dresses i picked up when ASOS had there 20% off promotion for students. even though i'm no longer a student i still have my login on UNIDAYS so i thought i'd take my advantage so i got myself a couple of things. i don't know why i love smock dresses so much especially when they do nothing for your figure i just think there's something great about not having to worry about how you look in an outfit. the print is an absolute beaut, vintage florals is a print i always enjoy wearing. the lace up detail on the back is just an extra bit of detail that completely sells this dress to me. i bought this in the smallest size (size 6) because i already knew a couple of people that had gotten these and told me just how oversized they were. if you wanted this to be more of a fitted, i'd say if you were 10-12 the size 6 would be perfect for you, otherwise you'll just have to wear it how i am. finally, i love my sandals i purchased recently from primark. i got them both in tan and black as they are at the bargain price of £12. perfect for summer.

i'm feeling incredible fragile today. considering i only had five drinks last night and was home by twelve i really just can't get my head around it. totally had to go work this morning too, that was not fun at all. i can't wait to get home and have a bath and just sleep it off. i'm so not cut out for the party lifestyle.

25/05/2013

i don't think there is a greater feeling than wearing fake tan and popping on some heels. the things it does for your self esteem is out of this world, well it is for me anyway. with working in retail it's very rare than i have bank holidays free but luckily i have the whole weekend off and i'm not in until twelve on monday so me and liam have decided we're going to venture out and embrace the bank holiday for once. the sun is finally shining so i decided to wear a summer appropriate outfit. this gorgeous dress was gifted to me from the lovely people at warehouse and the second i popped it on i fell in love. the a-line shape is super flattering for ladies like myself who are somewhat flat-chested but have child bearing hips, shall we say. i wish there were more opportunities for me to wear it as it's gorgeous. i think white is becoming one of my favourite colours to wear; when i have a tan of course. i think tan accessories always compliment an outfit like this so well and my fold over clutch from OASAP is the perfect size for all the little things i need on a night out. i hope you like it.

p.s how cute is my new anklet? i've never owned one before and i can't understand why i never have until now they are a lovely way to wear simple jewellery.

24/05/2013

can you tell i'm incredibly eager to go away on holiday? all i've done over the past two weeks is buy holiday clothing even though we haven't technically booked up yet; although i do have authorised holidays put in at work so i suppose that's why i'm mentally convinced i'm going on holiday. even so it's not until september i'll be jetting away but i'm already itching and scratching to be in foreign weather with it's wonderful hot sun. i'm not as much of a colourphobe (word invented by myself) as i used to be and i'm really enjoying wearing colourful clothing even when us brits are having less than sunny weather. of course colour always looks better for a tan which i really love these coloured camisoles topshop have in at the moment. the yellow one and this green one are definitely on my list. are they worth £15 though? hm. cat eye sunglasses are my favourite style to wear as i said in my previous post and these fancy pair on currently on ASOS so i'm super tempted to snap them up with the 20% they currently have on with UNIDAYS. which has now been extended to monday now in case you didn't know! i think all the other items on my wishlist are pretty obvious as to why they are there. a bikini because well, who wants to go to somewhere super hot and cover up so you may as well get a really nice one to sunbathe in. plus i love the daisy print. daisy is my favourite scent of all time, and i can't wait to get some at the duty free before i fly which is when i always stock up. finally i've never tried a BB cream besides the maybelline one last year which i did not like at all, and as it's too hot to pile on the foundation i thought the bobbi brown would be a good holiday purchase.

22/05/2013

there must be something in the air because i've don't think i've ever worn so much colour as i have over the past week. this must a super old dress as i've never saw it in work before but when i saw it during my now daily searches on eBay i snapped it up for the bargan price of £7. even though i'm usually picky about wearing cotton fabrics when it comes to dresses (sorry i'm a fabric snob) i actually really liked this when i put it on. all i need now is an acid wash cropped denim jacket and i'll be good to go.

as the sun came out a little bit today i decided now was my chance to wear my new sunglasses sent to my from the lovely people from the sunglasses shop. even though i don't drive anymore i've become accustomed to carrying sunglasses in my bag wherever i go incase it gets stupidly sunny and i can't see. cat eye are my favourite shape to wear which is why i absolutely love my pair by polaroid. at £37 they really don't break the bank whatsoever and you can tell they're super good quality; meaning i won't have to replace them three or four times like i usually do with my cheap pairs. the sunglasses shop also sell a variety of designer sunglasses such as ray-ban and oakley. my heart is definitely set on some ray-ban clubmasters next.

who else has been naughty with ASOS's 20% off promotion they have at the moment. the second it started this morning i bought two beaut smock dresses i'd had my eye on for ages and i think i'm gonna have another look tonight to see if there's anything else i want before it ends on friday. confessions of a shopaholic #1.

20/05/2013

i can't believe that in the whole year i've had this blazer, i've worn it the grand total of four times. it's such a lovely blazer too just white is so difficult to wear. you never know though with the all white trend that is currently in i may find more opportunities to wear it despite with all black outfits. can you believe this dress is only £7.99?! it's such a good quality fabric too and there's a wide variety of colours so i think i might get a couple more such as the white and mint blue they have just for holiday. after trying out lady danger three times now i've come to the conclusion that i just don't suit it, it's far too blue toned for my skin tone and it just washes me out completely even when i'm fake tanned like i am at the moment. such a shame as i anticipated buying it for such a long time.

as i have tomorrow off from work (the first time i've had a weekday off at work in god knows how long) i'm finally planning on seeing the great gatsby. i hope it's as good as everyone has been saying it was and how it looked on the trailer. SO EXCITED.

18/05/2013

doesn't the rain automatically dampen your mood? it hasn't stopped all day meaning i didn't want to leave the house which is such a shame as its my day off. on the other hand the postman arrived with several parcels so i had something to keep me busy. you might have seen me post on my instagram earlier last week about how i needed this dress as let's be serious it's the cutest thing ever. my boyfriend agreed to buy it for me as one of my birthday presents but me being me panicked about it selling out in my size so i forked out for it myself. now it's here it was so worth it too, everything about its so perfect. not only is it chiffon, skater dress and has scalloping on the back the icing on the cake has to be the elephants making a love heart with their trunks. i think i might keep it to wear as my birthday dress now though as i don't want it to just become one of my everyday dresses. totally sad that i matched my nails to the dress too, i think after today orange may be my new favourite colour.

hope everyone is enjoying there weekend, despite the weather. i'm spending the rest of my evening with an M&S dine in for two meal watching boring saturday night television. if you're a student doing some last minute revision for your exams or writing an assignment i send my love and wish you good luck. x

14/05/2013

what can i say, after listening to endless hours of beyonce played at work her songs are constantly playing in my head. i wish there was something interesting going on in my life to talk about like other bloggers usually do; whether they're running off to a blogging event or have something in the pipeline but i just really don't. unfortunately for me living where i do i've had to decline three invitations to events as they were in manchester and london and with having work the following day it just wasn't possible. it actually breaks my heart a little bit when i have to reply saying i can't make it because blogging events are my absolute favourite. note to companies, please do them in newcastle! we're here too.

i basically live in boots, swapping between my choies pair and these zalando biker boots; see a much earlier photo of them here before i wore them to death. the skirt is a recent purchase from work and i can't find it on the website so i've had to link the dress version. for £14.99 its going to be such a nice piece to wear over the summer with sandals and a vest top. my only wish is i'd gotten the xs instead of a s but even so it's still a nice fit.

13/05/2013

(source: uniprice)

so on the odd occasion when i actually do have free time in my hands it's more often than not spent browsing online for new things to buy. even though this does usually mean i end up spending money in things i could have probably lived without, sometimes it allows me to find brands i may have never even heard of had i not looked around. as me and liam are planning on booking up to go away in september i'm going through a stage of being totally excited about it and wanting to buy everything now to save me stressing later, which means all i'm doing at the moment is looking for holiday clothes. as we're still in the spring to summer transition unfortunately it's not as easy as i would have thought to find some really nice sandals in the usual go to places; such as ASOS, topshop, river island and even my trusty H&M. this is how i ended up finding uniprice. uniprice reminds me of shop it to me as it's a website that puts all the products you could you like from other websites in one place so you don't have to keep looking around. i managed to find these beautiful steve madden gladiator sandals from john lewis which i completely have my heart set on getting now.

anyway that's just the introduction to the reason why i'm doing this post and how i came about uniprice's competition. as i went back to the homepage i spotted that they are currently offering an opportunity for you and a friend to go to cannes fashion week and be part of all the exclusive fashion week events. it's a simple fill in the form with your name, email and country (or alternatively log in with facebook) and it's as simple as that really. with celebrities such as eva longoria, sherre j wilson and the hives attending previously and companies such as louis vuitton and vogue getting involved it sounds like the ultimate trip for fashion lovers like myself. if you want to get yourself entered just click here and good luck!

10/05/2013

i've changed where i take my outfit posts as i'm now taking them with a tripod and it's not even funny how much easier it is, why i haven't invested in one until now is beyond me. the one i bought was the hama 62 from amazon which you can check out here if you'd like. the only peeve is that the lighting is a little off and it makes my fake tan on my legs look patchy which is really isn't at all as xen-tan is easily the best fake tan i've ever used and i was wearing it in my outfit posts last week too.

can you believe this dress is only £25?! it's bloody crazy, it's the most beautiful thing ever. after working ten days continuously i have the whole weekend off and it feels amazing. i'm going to make sure i make the most of it by getting dressed up, dragging liam out and getting my date night on. i may as well make the most of my freedom, right? i decided the first time i'd wear it dressed up with some nude heels (currently my favourite pair of heels at the mo) but it's definitely something i can see myself wearing during the day too with some brown ankle boots and a cardigan. it's the perfect amount of floaty and i love that it has a small plunge at the back as it just makes it such a flattering shape. out of ten i'd probably give this dress a solid nine as i just never want to take it off when i have it on. i'm wearing an eight and it's super comfortable. hope you like :)

p.s the title is because i can't stop listening to beyoncé's 1+1 at the moment, the loveliest song.

08/05/2013

low and behold a way to look like you have false lashes without having to fork out £4-5 a time for a new pair each time you fancy adding a little extra "oomph" to your make up look. when i first opened the packaging up i was a little confused as to how something that looked like cotton wool would be able to do this but i followed the instructions to see if i could see what this product could do. as i naturally have quite thick, long eyelashes i think it would be much better for someone who is lacking in one, or both of these and needs a lot of volume and length. it's a shame that i wasn't able to see much difference between my normal application of mascara and with the magnifibres as i was really hoping this could have become a holy grail product for me and i could have saved some pennies. unfortunately i think for nights out i'll still be reaching for my trusty eyelure lashes but maybe for times when i'm just going to a meal i'll still carry on using this.

06/05/2013

hello everyone!

premier inn had been kind enough to provide a hotel for me knowing i was coming for MFW but unfortunately two weeks before the news broke that it had been postponed until later into the year. despite making them aware of the situation they still said i could have the stay, how amazing right? i'm already a huge fan of premier inn, regularly using them for all my previous visits to manchester. scaling from west didbury, old trafford, trafford centre and deansgate locks every experience has been the same, you can't fault the service. they put me up in premier inn piccadilly, right in the center of manchester. as i no longer have a car to commute with it was a huge relief that my hotel was situated in the center as it was literally a two minute journey in a taxi from the bus station. each morning me and liam were able to do a simple five minute walk to the arndale center for a spot of shopping or a bite to eat (which we did most days which has left me feeling about a stone heavier and my bank a huge sum lighter) and then piccadilly gardens was right there too incase we wanted to hop onto a bus to go outside and venture elsewhere, like the trafford centre. i wish i'd photographed more of what i saw in manchester as it really is such an interesting city and my favourite place in the whole of the UK!

i was also very kindly given a complimentary breakfast buffet each morning (liam too!) and free wifi for the final two days of my stay. this was an absolute godsend as i kept waking up at 8am like clockwork so it meant i could get down and have something to eat and be back before the lazy bum i call a boyfriend had even moved. i always filled up more than enough for breakfast AND lunch because it was a buffet, and there was always so much to choose from depending on your mood. don't judge me for taking extra yoghurts and muesli packets for snacks later on, they were free after all! the wifi was also very fast and was so much better than i expected it to be, which was great for blogging as it meant i could keep up with my emails, blogger, my twitter account and of course instagram! but it is actually only £3 for a whole 24 hours which is easy peasy and super cheap and you can pay via paypal too which i actually did do for the two days before i was given it free from premier inn.

i tried to make the room as homely as possible, with liam even giving me all the wardrobe space (the cutie) and the mirror to place all my necessities, unfortunately this did mean he got the bathroom and the desk which means i couldn't photograph anything there as his stuff was all over there. products i could not have lived with whilst i was away would have to be my philosophy 27 wishes beauty balm*, xen-tan morrocan tan* and my label m resurrection dust*. i can't thank premier inn enough for offering this to me! you made my stay in manchester more enjoyable and relaxing than i ever thought it could have been. the location was perfect and i can't recommend the hotel enough, even the restaurant downstairs was absolutely beaut. me and liam were really boring when it came to the evenings so three out of our five days we just had meals in the thyme restaurant situated downstairs. the prices of the food was really reasonable and the food was yummy, leaving me bursting at the seams afterwards! my favourite had to be the dough sticks me and liam shared with six ranges of dips such as guacamole, salsa, garlic butter and sour cream. i love food far too much, however this means i'm now on a diet to shed the pounds from all my indulging.